In the fried food industry, it is common to use a pressurized cooking vessel, such as a pressure fryer, to prepare products such as fried chicken, fish, or the like. The advantage of using a pressurized vessel is that it significantly reduces cooking time while providing a moist and tender product.
The typical operation of a pressure fryer may be summarized as follows: (1) fill the fryer with shortening; (2) raise the temperature of the shortening to a specific point through internal heating elements; (3) place food on wire cooking racks; (4) place the wire cooking racks with food in the fryer; (5) close the lid on the fryer; (6) heat the shortening, raising the pressure and cooking the food; (7) remove racks with fried food from the vessel; (8) drain; (9) remove the fried food from the cooking racks and place it on display racks; and (10) display fried food for consumers.